OpenJaw Technologies sets out expansion plans which will see the company double its workforce, following TravelSky Technology acquisition

News > OpenJaw Technologies sets out expansion plans which will see the company double its workforce, follo

Press Release
24 May 2017

DUBLIN, Ireland – May 24 2017 – Irish travel software company and wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm TravelSky, OpenJaw Technologies, (www.openjawtech.com) announced today, plans to double its global workforce from 230 to 450 employees in the next three years, with at least 50 of the jobs being located at the company’s offices in Dublin and Galway.

The jobs announcement was made at OpenJaw’s travel retailing summit at Dublin’s Mansion House, a two day event attended by executives from the world’s leading airlines and travel companies, IDA Ireland, the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Dr. Yue Xiaoyong, Larry Liang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OpenJaw and General Manager of TravelSky R&D Division as well as other industry experts in travel retailing and technology.

OpenJaw delivers eCommerce Technology to the world’s leading travel brands and supports them become online retailers, using OpenJaw’s specialist software. The company is headquartered in Dublin on Ormond Quay and following its acquisition by TravelSky last year, OpenJaw became the only travel tech company to have unique and proprietary access to the Chinese market. OpenJaw’s software also facilitates many of the world’s leading customer loyalty programmes.

From startup, (OpenJaw was set up by three Irish entrepreneurs in a one roomed office in 2002), to a business processing an annual gross transaction value of $2bn on the company’s platform, the company has taken advantage of one of the fastest growing trends – travel retail – and one of the fastest growth markets, China.

OpenJaw has over 30 customers globally, including; British Airways, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Hainan Airlines, Four Seasons Hotels, Avis Budget Europe and Air Miles. The company services its global customer base from regional offices in Galway, Krakow, Madrid and Hong Kong. A major R&D Centre in Dalian, China will commence operations in June of this year. Today’s announcement and expansion project is supported by the Department of Jobs and Innovation through IDA Ireland.

Welcoming the announcement Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD said "It is a tremendous achievement to be doubling your global workforce so soon after your acquisition by TravelSky last year and I particularly welcome the additional 50 jobs being created in Dublin and Galway as part of the global expansion. It is a huge endorsement of your product that 30 global travel companies have already become customers. I wish you every success with your expansion both here and In China and I look forward to watching you grow in the coming years."

Kieron Branagan, CEO, OpenJaw Technologies, said: “Our intention to expand our workforce globally, is directly linked to the tremendous growth we are experiencing in Asia, especially in the domestic Chinese market. Our relationship with TravelSky has given us proprietary access to the Chinese market and we’re already live with four Chinese carriers and we have another four in development. Ireland is a great location from which to attract key talent into our business and we are opening a large R&D centre in Dalian, China. As part of this recruitment campaign, we are looking for a wide range of talent including; travel tech specialists and software engineers.”

Speaking at the announcement, Martin Shanahan, Chief Executive of IDA Ireland, said: “The decision by OpenJaw to expand here in Ireland and internationally, is a major endorsement of Ireland as a leading location for global software companies. OpenJaw will act as a reference company of IDA Ireland when encouraging Chinese FDI into Ireland.”
Recruitment for the positions has already started and OpenJaw intends to fulfil up to half of the roles by the end of 2018, before completing the recruitment drive by the end of 2019. For details of how to apply for these positions, please visit http://careers.openjawtech.com/jobs/.

The theme for OpenJaw’s Global Travel Summit is ‘Re:Inventing Retail’ and sets out the opportunity for travel companies in online retailing, using cutting edge software technology. Speakers at the two day Summit, include; Professor David Rogers of Colombia University and best-selling author of the ‘The Digital Transformation Playbook’, Meg Elzea, Industry Manager, Global Travel at Google, Catherine Fitzgerald, Global Client Partner (Travel) at Facebook, International Air Transport Association, Cathay Pacific, Skyscanner, Hainan Airlines and Chinese online behemoth, CTrip.